In dentistry a number of dental compositions are provided in containers like cartridges, capsules and syringes. Often such containers are made for single use and are pre-filled with a dental composition. A variety of containers are available which can be used with a re-usable applicator. Therefore a system for dispensing the dental composition often includes an applicator and a container that can be inserted into and removed from a receptacle of the applicator. Applicators available on the market typically include a plunger that is adapted to extrude dental composition from the container.
For example WO 97/21394 discloses a dispensing applicator including a body with a handle, a pivotable lever and a front holder with a receptacle that is adapted to receive a dual chamber cartridge.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,125,836 discloses a manual extruder for receiving a cartridge at a front end. The extruder includes a pivoting handle attached to a finger grip handle. A plunger arranged in the extruder can be advanced by the pivoting handle. When the pivoting handle is squeezed closer to the finger grip handle, the plunger is moved toward the front end of the extruder. The plunger thus can be moved into the cartridge for extruding material from the cartridge.
Another applicator for dispensing dental compositions is disclosed in WO 03/061508. The applicator comprises a syringe body in which a specific amount of the composition is stored. The composition is dispensed from the syringe body to the desired location via a hollow dispensing needle by a displacing piston. The displacing piston is actuated by a force device arranged in a spring motor part of the applicator. The flow path between the inside of the syringe body and the dispensing hollow needle is controlled by a valve which is connected to a manual actuating unit positioned at the syringe body.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 4,993,948 discloses a cylinder containing tooth-filling material for hands-free use by a dentist. The filling material can be urged out of the cylinder by spring pressure. The flow of the material out of the cylinder through a nozzle is under the control of a valve located so that it can be readily manipulated between open and closed positions by the same hand of the dentist that controls the valve. The filling material is in a discrete capsule containing enough filling material for several teeth, and it may be easily placed into and removed from the cylinder.
It is still desirable to provide a dispensing device which is convenient to use with different dental compositions and different types of containers available on the market. Further there is still a need for a dispensing device which can be manufactured at relatively low cost, and which fulfils requirements particularly related to the dental field.